Treading Water

It is November 29th, and I realized that I have not taken a single picture this month. Not. a. single. one. My poor kiddos!

Some months are like that, though. With 3 kids, a hubby, a dog, a fish, an entire family of stray cats, a house, freelance work, and hubs' MDiv, our plates get a little full some times. Some days, keeping up with the laundry can seem like a challenge.

So, I may not have taken any pictures yet this month, and I may feel like I am treading water and barely keeping up. But, I love my family. I love my life. I am blessed and thankful. I have a full heart.

I just won't have the pictures to prove it :)

Peter Pan and a Punk Rock Angel

I am *finally* getting around to posting our Halloween pictures!

The older boys decided that we should have a family theme for costumes this year. Joshua and Jaden came up with the idea of having everyone dress up as a character from Peter Pan. Joshua was Captain Hook:



Jaden was Peter Pan:



Joshua and Jaden decided that Judah should be Tinker Bell, but hubs vetoed that one. We settled on Judah being the crocodile instead:



We pieced together Joshua's costume from some pirate items we already had on-hand, and I made Jaden's costume out of an old sweat suit. We found Judah's crocodile get-up at a consignment sale. The boys and I made their swords out of cardboard and foil (which they thought was SO fun). I thought they ended up looking a tad bit rag-tag, and I doubt anyone but us could tell who they were supposed to be. The boys didn't seem to mind, however. It was amazing how their little imaginations just took flight. I don't think Joshua or Jaden would have been more pleased with a custom made, designer costume! They were 100% convinced that they looked the part. I loved it!

Here's the group shot:



Speaking of dressing up, I also managed to take some pictures of Judah in some precious little cherub PJs we received as a shower gift. They are so adorable - - a little blue sleeper with wings.



I think he looks like a Punk Rock Angel, and those cheeks are very cherub-like if I do say so myself.

Can you tell his eyes are still just a little bit blue?!?! I keep hoping that one of our kiddos will have Brent's amazing blue eyes. Judah's aren't turquoise like his daddy's, but they are grayish green at the moment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will stay that way. Of course, if he ends up with big chocolate saucers like his older brothers, that will be just fine :)

Cute boys!

I think I'm doing okay, and then . . .

Sweet hubs has been out of town for the last couple of days on a staff retreat. On the rare weeks that he does have to travel for work or school, I don't exactly look forward to my sessions as a single parent. It makes me thankful that he doesn't have a job that requires him to be gone all the time!

Although I have been much more tired than usual (mostly due to the fact that the kids always get sick when hubs is out of town - - usually with a stomach bug or the general crud - - and this was no exception), I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping everything together. We made it to school on time, everybody ate their meals close to our normal schedule, and bedtime didn't get derailed too much either. I kept up with the laundry, I remembered to feed the dog, I cleaned the house, and I actually managed to fit in some paid writing work too. Not bad.

And then I do something that makes me realize that maybe I don't have it as together as I thought. Like leave the sliding door to the minivan open as it sits in our driveway in a rainstorm. For an hour. (And the only reason it got closed at all is because my mom noticed it as she was leaving our house after hanging out with us for dinner.) And, this was after I mistakenly ordered a take-out meal at Moe's for my out-of-town husband (To my credit, my mom and I have this routine of taking the kids out to eat on Brent's rehearsal night, and I usually take something home for him. So, this was sort of an autopilot default mistake.).

Argh! Brain!

Oldies, but goodies!

A while back, hubs took the older two boys to a wedding. Jaden took the opportunity to dance with our pastor's daughter:

Joshua was also asked to dance. He, however, said that dancing in front of everyone would be embarrassing. Ahhh, sibling differences.

They look so handsome!

Growing Up

As we were getting PJs on the other evening, Joshua reported feeling pain surrounding one of his lower teeth. I asked to take a peek (Don't moms have the gift for spotting tooth decay with the naked eye?). Here's what we saw:

Can you spy it too? Look behind the lower left tooth. Yep. That's a permanent tooth popping in right behind a baby tooth. It's not a cavity!!!!

The dentist told us that it will eventually push the baby tooth out of the way. Joshua was relieved to hear that. I think he was a little worried that he was going to be sporting a shark-like bite forever.

6 Month Stats

The littlest one is 6 months old! Here are his latest stats:

height: 28"

weight: 19 lbs., 1 oz.

I think he's big.

Got Candy?

Reasons it's Great to Have a Brother #5

The Brother-Go-Round:

Sittin' Pretty

Truth be told, Judah has been sitting up for nearly a month now, and I am just now getting around to posting a picture of it.

Ahhh, the joys of being the third child!

He is so cute, isn't he?!?

Fall Sunshine

It has been so rainy and wet here lately that I have been longing for some fall sunshine. I have these childhood memories of wrapping myself up in a blanket in the grass and napping in the warm fall sunshine. There is something about a gorgeous blue sky and chilly air that gets me!

I snapped these pictures of my cloth diapers drying in the sun. I thought they looked so pretty against the brilliant blue of the sky.

Now, if the winter-time gray sky will just stay away, I will be so excited!